Only 1152 hours left!

That's right and considering I'm about to go to bed, we can just knock off another eight hours just like that to take it down to 1144 hours. Piece of cake.

Time for complete honesty. I had no idea what I was in for. For some reason I didn't put the connection together that going raw was actually worse than being a vegan. "What? I can't actually cook anything, Sure that sounds great, sign me up. "

I would say the first week of going raw was like the roller coaster ride built on those old school tracks: Lots of highs, lots of lows, and that feeling at any moment that the entire ride could collapse. I honestly don't know if there was any moment in the first 5 days that I wasn't slightly miserable. Mainly I'm attributing that to the fact that every day from about 1:30-5:30pm I got the worse headache b/c I went from oh lets say 4-5 cups of coffee a day to 0. Not the best way to ween yourself off of caffeine I've found out. But hey anytime I got real depressed I just cheered myself up with either a carrot or a piece of celery.

Did I cheat? Well technically no b/c the committee awarded me a handful of exceptions. One being whenever I travel I have the ability to eat with my business associates on an as needed basis or whenever raw food can't be found. So when the opportunity came I selected jerk chicken pasta as my meal of choice. It tasted like heaven. Oh and although I did mention to the committee that I had ate at Chili's one night (veggie burger) I probably left out the chips and salsa I scarfed down waiting for my meal. with a beer.

On to highs. I estimate that out of my 21 meals I ate raw 16 times. Of the 5 non-raw meals, 4 were at least vegetarian and I simply added a little heat to the veggies to make them taste like they weren't raw. So 1 bad meal of 21 ain't bad. And I lost 6 pounds during week 1 to keep me motivated for week 2.

Onward we go.

My First Three Days

So... this has been a rougher start than I expected. Here's an email I sent Lis on day 1:

I have to say that this has not been pleasant so far. My green smoothie gave me indigestion and heart burn this morning. Then I had a banana on my way home from Mary Jo's. I almost threw up all over myself in the car. I had to throw up so bad. But somehow it passed without me throwing up. (I was praying hard.)

I wasn't feeling great this afternoon, so I took a nap. When I woke up, I had a banana, nut smoothie, piece of "fudge", and part of an apple. I feel sick to my stomach again. I just want bread or crackers to calm things down. Ugh!

Now I'm on my way to piano. I hope this gets better. Looking forward to seeing you tonight.

Sorry for all of the complaining.

Day 2 was a little better. At moments I have energy, my mind feels clearer, and I'm ready to do this for the rest of my life. At other moments I feel weak, cranky, and ready to fight somebody. I wanted a bagel with cream cheese so bad! But I didn't. I had a salad instead. And it was pretty tasty.

Day 3 is even better than the first two days. I dehydrated some "corn chips" last night- pretty excited about that. Felt great after my breakfast of banana and almond butter. But then got really weak halfway through teaching my class this afternoon. I did not pack a big enough snack. Lesson learned. Looking forward to dinner tonight, especially dessert. We made a "strawberry pie." BTW- raw foodies love calling their crazy concoctions by names we're familiar with. For example, Fettucini Alfredo, Fudge, Salmon Pate, etc. all from fruits, veggies, and nuts. Kind of crazy if you ask me b/c they never taste like the original. (See the pic of Fettucini Alfredo above.)

Trip to the Doctor

Well, I went to the doctor today. I was a little nervous about what he had to say about going raw with 12 weeks left in my pregnancy. But it wasn't as bad as I thought. He said that I need to add more protein. The nuts, veggies, and fruit are not going to provide as much protein as he would like for me to have. (This could be debated by raw foodies who believe that we can get all the protein we need from leafy vegetables. Look at the muscles on gorillas. =) But I'm just sticking to what the doc says.) So on top of the raw food I'm eating each week, I will add servings of eggs, beans, chicken, and fish.

I was really hoping for him to tell me that I needed more pasta, bread, or cookies. I mean, protein is not what my body is craving. But no such luck. Its crazy to me how anxious I've been the last few days just thinking about giving up carbs and sweets that I'm used to. There's just something so soothing about grabbing a hand full of animal crackers in the middle of the day or a little frozen yogurt after dinner. Its amazing to me how those little habits feel more like food addictions the more I think about giving them up. I'm anxious, grumpy, and just all around feeling out of control at the thought of Monday fast approaching. But I can't turn back now, I've started this blog. =) Wish me luck!

Red Cabbage Wraps

Amanda made this great vegan meal tonight.  All of the veggies came from our local Farmer's Market, Kings Street Market.

Amanda chopped up carrots, cukes, red pepper, pecans, and avocado.  She then tossed in some cooked couscous (which will not be legal next week), and wrapped it all up in some lovely red cabbage leaves and topped it off with a good dousing of Braggs, just like a burrito.

Really, really, yummy.  I had six.  For dessert, there was a watermelon & kiwi salad.  I loved this meal, so many flavors.  And it was a nice alternative to all of the salads I'd been consuming over the last week.

Plus, it was filling.  I'd grown particularly hungry over the day, since I failed to take a substantial lunch to work.  So coming home to this was great.  And it also was fairly quick to make and easy clean up.  Thanks Amanda!

Getting ready!

I had my last Arby's roast barf sandwich today. A friend from work picked it up for me, it was pretty tasty! Don't worry, I also had loads of strawberries with it. I've started to add a lot of fruits and veggies this week so it doesn't come as a total shock when we start. I'm a little worried though, we haven't even started this thing yet and I am already tired of strawberries. :/ Gonna have to buy some crazy fruits to keep me interested!

We went to the farmers market and bought lots of greens and fruits! Spent only $16!! Yowza! We then went and grabbed some essentials from Whole Foods. Braggs Liquid Aminos, Cold pressed EVOO, Raw Celtic Sea Salt and Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. These are all things we can season with. There are more but we are starting with these.

I'm going to make a gigantic salad tonight with Jubb's Dill Dijon dressing. It came out of a cookbook of Amanda's. Its called Carol Alt, Eating in the Raw. I'll post the recipe (I'm allowed to do that right?!) it sounds pretty yummy!

3-4 T. of Dijon Mustard
3 T. Braggs Liquid Aminos or Shoyu
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
1 T. raw tahini
1/4 cup cold-pressed EVOO
1/2 lemon, juiced
3 bushy sprigs fresh dill
1 T. honey or raisins
1/4 cup water

Mix all in blender!

Here's the Deal...

What are we doing exactly?

The four of us are "Going Raw" for two months beginning Monday, April 19, 2010.

• We're eating raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and sprouted grains.
• We're not eating anything cooked, pasteurized, or processed.

Of course, there are always exceptions. =)

• Klif is having 16 ounces of decaf coffee every day.
• Jeremy is going to drink Green Tea.
• Amanda may have exceptions after talking to her Doctor on Wednesday, 4/14/10.

Each of us has our own reasons, including: to have better health, to lower cholesterol, to lose weight, to have more energy, to have improved mental health, and to curb allergies. We are testing the notion that putting only live food in our bodies will improve our quality of life.

Of course, we're not sure if these good meaning intentions will outweigh the pull of Starbucks, pizza, burgers, Dairy Queen, etc. It will definitely be a struggle, and you'll get to read all about it.

Its about to get rawwwwdy!!

Hi! I'm Lisa, well Lis, call me Lis. As I write I have a very large chocolate chip pancake sitting in my stomach from dinner. Yuk, you all know the feeling. Plus, I ate that pancake because I had a crappy day. Emotional eater right here folks.
One of things I'm excited about in doing this raw diet for 2 months is to really take care of my body and see how that affects my mental health. I struggle with depression and anxiety and have heard that eating raw can do wonders. Not that I would be completely healed, maybe, but more doing what I can to better take care of myself. I'm excited to join in this adventure with Jeremy my husband and two good friends Amanda and Klif.
From some of the recipes I have seen they look pretty tasty, so I'm excited about it! I always love trying out new recipes.
We have 7 days till the kick off date so I'm not too nervous yet, more just excited. This weeks goal for me is to slowly come off of coffee (I'm a barista) and start adding a lot more fruits and veggies into our diet.
More to come!

8 weeks raw

The best way to describe my current eating habit is to simply let you know what I had for dinner tonight. I had brinner. That's right, breakfast for dinner. 1 egg over easy, cheesy grits, 1 sausage patty, half a biscuit with apple butter, and 1 chocolate chip pancake. Oh and a couple cups of coffee to wash it down. Could have been worse, right? Problem is I'm 36 years old, about 30 lb's over what I should be and recently thought I was having heart trouble. After a quick trip to the doc found out I probably only had acid in my chest cavity which was cured by some prescription drugs but in the process of having blood taken to make sure I wasn't days away from a heart attack was given the news that I'm a prime candidate for T2 (that's right, type 2 diabetes). My doc's recommendation for staving off T2 is losing the extra lb's.

So 2 months later sitting around the dinner table tonight Klif, Amanda, Lis and I decide to go raw. We each have our own reasons but mine is two-fold. First lose the extra weight to prevent T2 and second to stop feeling like a sloth. Every time I eat a meal similar to the one above (which is at least once a day mind you) I feel horrible. Heavy stomach, need a nap, all around crappy feeling inside of me. It's time to take a serious look at what a healthy eating life style can do for me. The lady in the video I watched tonight on eating raw claims I'll notice a difference in days, so I figure in 2 months I should feel and look like I did at 22. If I don't, back to brinner.

Raw Food While Pregnant?

So, I'm 7 months pregnant and trying to eat healthier. My name is Amanda. I'm married to Klif and hope to be joining him and our friends Lisa and Jeremy on this two month adventure.
Before becoming pregnant I experimented with a raw food diet and Dr. Fuhrman's Eat for Life (which is very similar to a vegan diet). However, with 6 weeks of nausea during my first trimester, came some really bad eating habits. For those 6 weeks I pretty much lived on cereal, bread, and all things bland and yellow. (Don't get me wrong, I've always struggled with food addictions and eating well. Pregnancy is what has caused my latest glitch.) Vegetables seemed completely out of the question. I now am missing how good fruits and vegetables made me feel. I'm going to the doctor on Wednesday and am a little nervous about what he's going to say about going 100% raw. I may end up needing to make some exceptions. I want to get everything I need for my baby. I'll keep you posted on his recommendation. I hope to participate as fully as possible in this two month experiment- with the desire that it will spark a life long love of healthy eating for my family.
-Amanda

My take on what we're doing.

At the Flying Biscuit tonight, Amanda, Lisa, Jeremy, and myself starting talking about food.  We all really like food.  I love beer, coffee, cheese, and also...tons of food.  I'm a big volume fan, as I'm sure men all over, especially Americans, can appreciate.  But that's given me a few things.  A few extra pounds, and higher than normal Cholesterol levels.  I just had my check up last week.  My LDL was 153.  Not horrid, I know.  But it's also high for someone my age, 27, who eats okay and exercises.

I'm going to starting eating raw foods exclusively.  Eating raw involves eating tons of fruits & vegetables, and not exposing food to heat.  More of the details to come from Amanda.  Three others are joining me, and we're going to support each other and logging our journey on "4 Going Raw."

More to come!